Phonograph record changer



946. J. ERWOOD ET AL 4,

PHONOGRAPH RECORD CHANGER Filed Nov. 20, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet l wM MAJ-TuFeb. 12, 1946.

J. ERWOOD ET AL PHONOGRAP H RECORD CHANGER Filed Nov. 20, 1944 4Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS Feb. 12, 1946. J ERWOOD ETAL 2,394,539

PHONOGRAPH RECORD CHANGER Filed Nov. 20, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 r 1 J19J09 Q Z W meted Feb. 12, 1946 UNITED STATES.

PHONOGRAPH RECORD CHANGER Joseph Erwood and John Erwood, Chicago, 111.,assig'nors to The Erwood Co... Chicago, 11]., a corporation oi IllinoisApplication November 20, 1944, Serial No. 564,210

15 Claims. (01. 274-40) This invention relates, in general, tointermittent feed mechanism, and has more particular reference tomechanism adapted to deliver phonograph records successively inoperating position in record playing apparatus, that is to say, theinvention specifically pertains to phonographic record changingapparatus.

Automatic record changing apparatus normally comprises the combination,with a motor driven record turntable and tone pickup arm movable overthe turntable, of means for supporting a stack of records and fordelivering records, one by one, from the stack to the turntable, andmeans for raising and lowering, and swinging the tone arm, at properlytimed intervals, to apply the same to a, record to be played, to retractthe same from the record at the conclusion of the record playingoperation, and to swing the tone arm to a position allowing a succeedingrecord to be deposited in playing position on the turntable. Apparatushitherto provided for record changing purposes has been of relativelycomplex nature, embodying many parts forming more or less intricatemechanism, the same being expensive to make and assemble, requiringaccurate adjustment, and being apt to get out of order.

As exemplified in United States Letters Patent No. 2,230,106, issued toone of the Joint inventors hereof under date of January 28, 1941, it hasheretofore been proposed to improve and simplify automatic recordchanging apparatus with some success. Presently, however; we seek toprovide still further improvement and simplification, and an importantobject of the present invention is to provide apparatus of utmostsimplicity, comprising a minimum number of rugged parts that are easytomake and assemble whereby to provide low cost record changingapparatus having improved service qualities. and requiring minimumadjustment and care in operation.

Another important object is to provide record changing mechanism that isheld in cocked, yet inactive condition, thus eliminating operationalnoise, while the record is being played, the mech- 45 anism becomingactive to perform its record changing cycle, automatically, at theconclusion of the playing of a record, and also being manbeing to formthe cam directly on the record turntable, thereby eliminating an extrapart.

Still another important object of the invention is to utilize a cam ofspiral configuration and to drive the record change mechanism by causinga cam follower, connected thereto, to ride the spiral 5 cam between theouter and inner portions thereof; a further object being to utilize apair of cam followers adapted alternately to ride the cam and thus movethe mechanism successively in opposite directions in performing itsrecord changing 1o cycle and returning to an inactive, starting positionin which it is cocked and ready for a repeat v performance.

Another important object is to employ the movement of the cam followingmechanism, in

one direction, to lift andreturn the tone arm to an inactive or startingposition and to then perform a record change operation, and to employthe movement of the mechanism, in the return direction, to swing anddeposit the tone arm, in playing position, on the changed record and tolatch the change mechanism in cocked position ready upon. demand torepeat its operational cycle.

Another important object is to drive the change mechanism, in onedirection, by the cam upon in one direction, another cam follower beingthen released from cooked and latched position to cooperate wlth the camto return the mechanism to starting position, the cam serving to recockand relatch the said other follower when the 85 change mechanism reachessuch starting position.

Another object is to provide simple means actuated by cam driven changemechanism for raising, lowering and swinging the tone arm; a furtherobject being to raise and lower the arm by means of a cam on the changemechanism and to swing the arm by a friction wheel.

Another object is to provide a manually adjustable stop projectable tovarious selected positions for determining the tone arm position at thecommencement of a record playing cycle whereby the device may beconditioned for playing records of various size: a further object-beingto accomplish the projection and retraction of said stop, as by a cam onthe change mechanism, a further object being to provide for releasingthe tone arm from said stop by retraction of the stop after playingposition of said arm has been determined, whereby the arm may then movefreely over the tumtable in playing a record. I

Another object is to provide manually operable means for locking thechange mechanism in tion.

cocked, inoperative position and to disable said tone arm stopinretracted position whereby the apparatus may function as if notprovided with record changing mechanism.

Another object is to provide a common control, preferably a knob orhandle tumable at will to several selective positions, in one of whichthe change mechanism is latched against operation and in others of whichthe mechanism is released for operation on records of various size.

Another object is to provide a control, preferably in the form of a pushbutton, manually operable to release the change mechanism for operationduring the playing of a record so that the record may be rejected andchanged at will; a furthenobject being to combine the reject button withthe record size adjusting knob by disposing the button centrally of theknob to provide a neat unitary control for; the entire mechanism.

Another object is to provide improved latch tripping means for releasingthe change mechanism for operation, when the tone arm reaches the limitof its record playing movement, and also if the arm, before reachingsuch limit, should receive a rocking movement, such as may be appliedthereto upon contact with an eccentric record groove, of the typeapplied in most records, at the termination of the playing groovestherein, the latch tripping means being also operable at will by themanually operable reject button.

The foregoing and numerous other important objects, advantages andinherent functions of the invention will become more apparent as thesame is more fully understood from the following description, which,taken with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodimentselected for the purpose of demonstrating the inven- Referring to thedrawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a phonographic record player embodyingthe present invention: 7 Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the undersideof a record turntable forming part of the device shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the device shown in Fig. 1, with theturntable removed;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the underside of the apparatus shown in Fig. 3,the record changing mechanism being shown in the position occupiedduring the record playing operation and at ;the commencement of therecord changing cycle;

Fig. 5 is a view, similar to Fig. 4, showing the apparatus in positionmidway through the record changing cycle;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of a portion of the apparatus shown in Figs.4 and 5;

nection with a groove 23 formed at the peripheral edge of the turntableIS. The plate i3 carries a pedestal 25, outwardly of the edge of theturntable, on which pedestal is supported a tone pickup arm 2.1, whichis pivoted for movement about the vertical axis of the pedestal and alsofor movement about a horizontal axis whereby the pickup device, on thearm 21 at the end thereof remote from the pedestal 25, may be applied toand lifted from the turntable, and a record thereon, and may swinghorizontally across the turntable.

It will be understood, of course, that the pickup device on the arm 21may be connected with suitable sound reproducing equipment so that byapplying the .pickup device to a record on the turntable and byenergizing the motor to operate the turntable, to thus rotate the recordbeneath and against the pickup device, a sound recording on the recordmay be reproduced at the apparatus with which the pickup device isconnected.

In order to provide for the automatic delivery of records successivelyon the turntable in position to be engaged and played by the pickupdevice on the arm 21, we have provided, on the plate i3, compact andsimplified record changing apparatus including means for supporting astack of records 29 in position, above the turntable, to

be successively delivered in playing position on theturntable. To thisend, the plate I3 is proporting blade 33 normally held in position, onthe Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 1- inFig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 8-8 inFig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a partial side elevational view;

Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line Ill-l0 inFig. 9; and

Fig. 11 is a side view of the control device shown in Fig. 9.

To illustrate the invention, the drawings show a record player llcomprising a support plate l3 carrying a record turntable l5 mounted forrotation thereon about the axis of a central stem H, the turntable beingdriven by a preferably pedestal, with the end of the blade overlying andextending vertically above the peripheral edge of the turntableso thatthe stack 29 of records to be played may be supported, at the oppositesides of the stack, on the ends of the blades 33, with the upper end ofthe stern ll projecting through the aligned central openings of therecords comprising the-stack 29. Each pedestal 3| also carries a recordchanging blade 35 extending therefrom substantially at right angles withrespect to its cooperating blade 33, each blade 35 being offset upwardlyof its cooperating blade 33 a distance substantially equal to thethickness of a record disc. Each blade 35 is" formed with a preferablysubstantialy knife-edged nose 3! in its side adjacentits cooperatingblade 33, that is to say, the side of the blade 35 which normallyextends adjacent to the record stack 29.

By causing the blades 33 and 35 to turn on the pedestals 3| in\unisonand in a counter-clockwise direction, viewing the apparatus, as shown inFig. 1, from above, the blades 33 may be swung outwardly from beneaththe stack 29 while the blades 35 are swung inwardly, the noses 31 of theblades 35 entering between the lowermost record of the stack and therecord immediately above such lowermost record whereby said blades35will position and replaced by the stack supporting blades 33 in orderto condition the record chan ing means for a successive performance ofthe record changing cycle.

In order to correlate operation of the record. changing blades with therecord playing movement of the arm 21 we provide simplified mechanismoperable upon th completion of the playing of a record on the turntable,to first raise the tone arm from the record and swing it outwardly onthe pedestal 25 to a stand-by position entirely.

clearing the turntable; then to cause the record changing blades toperform their record changing cycle; and, finally, to turn the arm 21 toswing inwardly and drop upon the turntable to apply the pickup device instarting position on the record to be played,

ation of the record changing mechanism. We

provide novel latch controlled mean for drivingly connecting theoperating member 91 with 1 the motor I! at the conclusion of the playingof To this end, as shown more particularly in Fig. I

8 of the drawings, the tone arm support pedestal forms a verticalbearing for a tubular arm,

support 39, which is turnablewithin and about. the vertical axis of thepedestal 25. One end of the support 39 extends at the upper end of thepedestal and carries a bracket 4| fixed thereto,

the tone arm 21 being pivotally mounted on the bracket by means of ahorizontal pivot pin 49. The tubular support 39 has an end extendingoutwardly of the pedestal 25 beneath the support plate I3, said endcarrying an arm or blade fixed on and extending radially of the tube 39,and a friction drive wheel 41 fixed on the tube adjacent the arm 45.outwardly of the friction wheel 41, the end of the tube 39 may beprovided with a collar 49, and a spring washer 5| may be interposedbetween the collar and the friction wheel.

It will be seen that the foregoing construction allows the arm 21 toswing horizontally about the vertical axis of the pedestal with the tube39 turning within the bearing afforded by the pedestal, and that the arm21 may swing vertically about the horizontal axis provided by the pin43. Axially movable within the bore of the tube 39 is a pin 53, the headof which extends outwardly of the tube 39 at the collar 49. The otherend of the pin 53 extends outwardly of the tube 39 at the bracket 4! inposition to bearingly engage a shoe 51, which is fixed on the arm 21. Bycontrolling the position of the pin 53 in the tube 39, the elevation ofthe arm 21 with respect to the turntable may be determined. By pushingthe pin 53 upwardly in the tube 39, the arm 21 may be swung upwardly onits pivot. 43 and conversely the arm may be allowed to drop under theinfluence of its ownlweight bylowering the pin in the tube 39.

The pedestals 3|, which carry the record changing blades, are preferablyhollow to form vertical bearings for pins 59 upon which the recordchanging blades are secured. These pins 59 have ends projecting from thelower ends of the pedestals 3| beneath the support plate l3 and arefitted with radially extending arms 6|, which are tied together by meansof a connecting bar 63 so that the pins 59 and the record changingblades thereon may move only in unison. One of the pins 59 also has aradial driving arm 95 fixed thereto by means of which the pins may beturned.

In order to correlate the movements of the tone arm with the recordchanging operation of the record changing blades, the plate l3 carriesan operating member 61 periodically movable under the driving influenceof the motor i9 and cooperatively associated with the tone arm to raiseand swing the same to stand-by position upon the completion of theplaying of a record,

a record in order to initiate and to carry out the record changing cycleof operation. We also provide improved and simplified means for raisingand swinging the tone arm 21 in response to movement of the operatingmember 91 and for determining the starting position at which the arm isdeposited, by the mechanism, upon a record to be played-whereby themechanism is instantly adjustableto operate upon records of varioussize, such as the ten inch and twelve inch records in common use. As afurther refinement, we provide simplified means for latching and thussecuring the operating member in stand-by position to thereby disablethe record changing apparatus and allow the record playing mechanism tofunction with the automatic record changing equipment inoperative.

The operating or actuating member 51 prefably comprises a sheet metalplate having a pair of arms 89 and a central body 1|, the arms 99 beingformed at one end of said central body and the other end of the bodybeing pivotally secured upon the underside of the support plate l3. asby means of a suitable pivot pin 13. Secured "to the body of theoperating member 91 at the pivot pin, and turntable with the'body aboutsaid pin, are segmental plates 15 and 11 having circular edges 19 and8|, respectively, center ing on the axis of the pivot pin 13. The edge19 of the blade 15 frictionally engages the friction wheel 41 on thetubular tone arm support 39 and serves to rotate the support and thetone arm in res'ponse to movement of the operating member 61 about itspivot pin 13. The blade 11 is provided at its edge with a. block 83forming a cam in position to engage the head 55 of the tone arm raisingpin 53 when the operating member 61 is turned on its pivot into positionbringing the cam 83 into contact with the head of the stem, whereby thearm 21 may rest on the turntable at a record playing elevation so longas the head of the stem engages the edge of the blade 11; but the arm 21will be raised from playing position whenever the head of the stemengages the cam 93.

The operating member 81 normally occupies to stand-by positionillustrated in Figs. 4 and 6 of the drawings, during the playing of arecord. The operating member 61 is yieldingly retained in such stand-byposition, as by means of a latch member- 85, which may comprise a latchblade pivotally mounted on a pin 81, and yieldingly urged. on said pinas by means of a spring 99. in a direction to yieldingly engage ,adetent 9| on the operating member .51. a

The arms 59 of the operating member 91 carry selectively operable clutchdevices 93and 93' for drivingly connecting the operating member withthe-motor l9. 'As shown, the devices 93 and 93 comprise retractable pins95 adapted to be held normally in retracted position on the arms 69 butreleasable for projection to active position in which said pins mayengage in and ride along a .cam way 91 preferably comprising a spiralshallower and provides a pin depressing incline 99 which merges with thebottom surface of the central turntable portion I at the inner-end ofthe groove.

The devices 93 and 93' preferably each comprise a bushing IOI secured atone end thereof on the member 61, as by means of a holding nut I03threaded on the bushing and clamping the same in place. The other end ofthe bushing extends through a curved slot formed in the plate I3. Eachbushing IOI thus extends in a corresponding guide slot, the member 93operating in a slot I05 and the member 93' operating in a slot I05, Theslots I05 and I05 are curved about the axis of'the pivot pin 13 as acenter and the bushings IOI have ends projecting upwardly of the plateI3 immediately beneath the turntable. The upwardly projecting ends ofthe bushings IOI may each carry a nut I01, but the bushings are freelymovable along the guide slots I05 and I05. Each bushing carries one ofthe pins 95 axially movable therein with an end of each pin exposed atthe upper end of its supporting bush- 0 ing. The pins also have portionsextending outwardly of the lower ends of the bushings for engagementwith preferably leaf springs I09 mounted on the member 61 and serving toyieldingly urge the pins in an upward direction in the bushings toproject the cam engaging portions thereof toward the underside of theturntable. The pins are normally retained in retracted position againstthe influence of the springs I09 by means of latches III and III'. Theselatches comprise levers pivoted, as at I I3, in lateral slots II5 formedin the bushings IOI, said latches normally seating in circumferentiallatch grooves I I 1 formed in the pins 95 to hold the same in retractedposition. The latches are normally urged toward pin holding position bysprings II9 mounted on the arms 69 adjacent the bushings IN. The leversIII and II I, however, may be moved against the influence of the sprin sII9 to release the pins 95 for upward projection in the bushings I0 IThe latching groove I I1 of the device 93' may be formed with aninclined side III-l, as shown at the left hand side of Fi 7, tocooperate with the correspondingly formed portion of the latch III. Thisconstruction allows the pin 95, after it has beenraised to latchingposition on the central land I00, by the inclined groove portion 99, tobe further retracted to separate its end from the sirable to form thelatching groove II1in the device 93 with straight sides so that the pin95 may be securely latched by the lever III under relatively lightspring tension. In order that the pin 95 may clear the underside of thetumtable when in latched position, the underside of the turntableoutwardly of the central land I00 is cut away, as at I20, sufflclentlyto clear the end of the pin 95 after it has been latched by riding ontothe central land I00, The device 93, as will hereinafter appear, afterbeing latched by riding onto the land portion I00, is immediately movedoutwardly thereofby the driving engage- I ment of the device 93' in thegroove 91.

The stem I1, upon which the turntable is turnably mounted, is preferablyflxed'in the plate I3, as by means of a suitable fastening nut 28, andextends upwardly of the plate, providing a bearing- I2I for theturntable at the base of the stem. It should be noted that the slots I05and I05 extend on opposite sides of the pin I1 and that the devices 93and 93', which operate in said slots, cooperate with the cam 91 onopposite sides of the pin I 1. When in stand-by or starting position,the member 61 supports the device 93 at the outer end of its guide slotI05, the other device 93' being supported at the inner end of its guideslot I 05'. If desired, a stop block I23v may be secured on theunderside of the plate I3 at the outer end of the slot I05 to accuratelydetermine the stand-by or starting position of the member 61 byengagement with the bushing I0 I, as shown more particularly in Fig. 7of the drawings.

Cooperatively associated with the latch member III, is a latch trippinglever I25 comprising a member pivotally supported on the plate I3, as bymeans of the pivot I21, said lever I25 having an arm I29 extendingadjacent the latch member III and adapted to shift said latch memberwhen the leverv I25 is rotated on its (pivot in a counter-clockwisedirection, viewing Fig. 6, rotation of the lever in a clockwisedirection being preferably limited by means of a stop pin I30 in theplate I3. The arm 45, which turns with the tone arm, being securedthereto by the sleeve 39, has an end which swings adjacent an edge ofthe lever I25, said arm 45 being provided with means for moving thelever I25 to release latch III upon the completion of the playing-of arecord. To this end, the lever I25, in its edge facing the swinging endof the arm 45, is provided with a series of teeth I3I, while the arm 45at its swinging end carries pivoted thereon, a tooth member I 33. Thistooth is connected with a relatively weak spring I35, which servesyieldingly to hold the tooth in position, projecting at the landsurfaces I00 by the camming action of the,

latch III with the inclined groove side IIB. To this end the spring II9, associated with the latch I I I, is made adequately strong toperform its pin retracting cam action.

If desired also, the latching groove II1 of the device 93 may be madewith an inclined side similar to the side H8 in the device 93' in orderto retract the pin from the relatching land I00. It is desirable,however, that the spring II9, which cooperates with the latch III, berelatively weak to permit easy hair trigger release of the latch III ashereinafter described. It is, therefore, de-

swinging end of the arm 45, to engage the teeth I3I of the lever.

- At the commencement of the playing of arecord, the arm 45 will occupya position approximately as shown in solid lines in Fig. 6 of thedrawings. During the playing of a record, the movement of the tone armradially of the turntable will cause the arm 45 to travel in acounterclockwise direction, viewing Fig. 6, to a position at theconclusion of the playing of a record substantially as indicated indotted lines in Fig. 6. During such movement of the arm 45, the toothI33 It will be noted also that during the travel of the tooth I33 alongthe edge of the lever I25, the tooth I33 will be tilted on the arm 45,the spring I35 yielding to allow the tooth to so tilt. Disc recordsordinarily are provided with an eccentric groove into which the pickupdevice is delivered at the conclusion of the playing of the sound trackof a record. When the pickup device enters such eccentric record groove.the tone arm 21 and the arm 45 will be rocked back and forth. As the arm45 moves backwardly from the position shown in dotted lines. in Fig. 6,the tooth I33 will be caused to straighten itself on the arm due to theengagement thereof with the teeth I3 I, thereby imparting a toggleaction causing the lever I25 to rotate in a direction to trip the latchlever I I I. In the event that a record being played is not providedwith an eccentric groove; the end of the latch lever III has an endfitted with an adjustable pin I31, which is supported in position suchthat record playing movement of the arm 45 beyond a predeterminedposition will trip the latch lever by direct engagement therewith. I Assoon as the latch lever I I I is tripped, the pin 95 of the operatingdevice 93 will be released and projected under the influence of thespring I99 into position to engage the outer end of the cam groove 91.Thereafter, continued rotation of the turntable will draw the device 93radially inwardly along the slot I95 by the action of the spiral camupon the pin 95, thereby rotating the member 51 about its pivot 13 in acounter-clock wise direction, viewing Fig. 6. Such movement willcontinue until the parts reach relative positions, as shown in Fig. 5.When in such position, the actuating pin 95 of the device 93 will havereached the inner end of the cam groove and rides up the inclinedgrooved portion 99 onto the central portions of the turntable therebyreturning the pin to latched position against the influence of thespring I09.

During the initial portions of the movement or the member I51 under thedriving influence of the device 93, the tone arm 21 will be raisedthrough the engagement of the head of the pin 53 with the cam block 83and the tone arm will have been swung outwardly of the peripheral edgeof the turntable by the action of the plate 15 on the friction wheel 41,such outward movement of the tone arm being limited by a stop pin I39positioned on the underside of the plate l3 to engage and limit themovement of the arm 45 in the limit position shown in Fig. 5 of thedrawings. Thereafter, continued movement of the member 51 will actuatethe record changing mechanismsince the member 51 is connected therewithby means of the connecting rod 55, said rod having a slot I to affordlost motion connection with the member 51, whereby the record changingmechanism is not actuated during the period of initial movement of themember 61, thereby affording ade quate time within which to retract thetone arm outwardly of the peripheral edge of the turntable.

The plate I3 on its underside is provided with a latch releasing stopmember I43 in position to engage the latch member I I I' when theactuating member 61 reaches the position shown in Fig. 5. When in suchposition, the member 93' is disposed opposite the peripheral portions ofthe turntable so that upon actuation of the latch member III' the.pin 95of the driving member device 83' and its pin in the cam groove 91. Asthe member 81 reaches its inoperative or standby posltion, the pin ofthe device 83' will ride up the inclined inner end of the cam groove,thereby relatching the device 93' so that the member 81 will thereafterbe and remain entirely disconnected from the turntable and driving motorand will be retained in stand-by position by operation of the springlatch 85 and detent 9 I.

During the initial portions of the returning movement of the operatingmember 51 from its projected position shown in Fig. 5, the tone arm willfirst be swung inwardly by the action of the blade 15 on the frictionwheel 41 to a position determined by an adjustable stop latch I45disposed at the underside of the plate I3 adjacent the arm 45. Thislatch comprises a member preferably pivoted at one end on the pin 81.The member I45 is yieldingly urged, as by means of a spring I41, in adirection to engage an adjustable stop I49. This stop may be manuallyadjusted on the plate I3 to several positions. The member I45 has stopshoulders I5I, said shoulders being in position to engage a positioningpin I53 mounted in the arm 45, said positioning pin being adapted toengage a stop shoulder I5I selected by the position of the adjustablestop I49. In the illustrated embodiment there are two shoulders I5I sothat with the member I45 in the dotted line position in Fig. 6, movementof the tone arm inwardly, during the initial portions of the returnmovement of the member 51, will be stopped by a shoulder I5I in apredetermined position with respect to the edge of the turntable, suchposition corresponding with the size of the record to be played. Forthis purpose, the two shoulders I5I may correspond, respectively, with aten inch record and a twelve inch record; The member I45 also isprovided with a shoulder I55 and the latch member 85 is provided with apin I51 in position to engage the shoulder and retract member I45, asfrom dotted line position to solid line position shown in Fig. 6, thusover the record. Such retraction of the member I45 is accomplishedduring the latter portions of the returning movement of the member 51 tostand-by position. To this end, the member 61 is provided with a cam I59which may incorporate the latch detent M. This cam cooperates with thelatch member 55, to turn the same in a counter-clockwise direction andto retain the memher in the dotted line position shown in Fig. 6,whenever the driving member 51 is displaced from its stand-by orinoperative position, that is to say, when the latch member 55 ridesupon the cam I59 during the entire record changing cycle of movement ofthe member 51 and until just before the member returns to stand-by orinoperative position. So long as the member 85 is in the dotted lineposition shown in Fig. 6, the member 45 is free to swing against thestop I45 and occupy a position wherein the pin I53 may engage one orother of the stop shoulders I5I. As the member 61 approaches and reachesits-stand-by position, the member 85, riding on the cam I59 under theinfluence of the spring 89, will return to the solid line position shownin Fig. 6, thereby retracting the member I45 against the influence ofthe spring I41 by the action of the pin I51 on the shoulder I55, thusreleasing the arm 45 and the tone arm connected therewith for playingmovement. As the member 61 reaches its standby position therebyreleasing the tone arm for playing movement, the cam 83 is alsoretracted from beneath the pin 53 thereby lowering the tone arm upon therecord in position'to commence the playing of the same.

The driving member 61, of course, in returning to its stand-by position.from the position shown in Fig. 5, through the action of the connectingrod 66, will restore the record changing blades to the normal stacksupporting position shown in Figs. land 3. It is desirable to providemeans for latching the record changing mechanism in position with theblades 33 supporting the stack and also in record changing positionwiththe blades 35 supporting the stack. To this end, the connecting bar63 may be provided with spaced notches I6I and I62, and a spring pressedlatch member I63 pivoted as at I65 on the plate I3 may also be provided.The'latch member has a when the record changing mechanism is in shiftedposition with the blades 35 supporting the record stack and tolatchingly engage the notch I82 when the record changing mechanism is innormal position with the blades 33 Sup orting the record stack. Thelatch I63 has a portion extending adiacent an edge of the slot I35 inposition to be engaged by the bushing IIII'oi the driving device 33 asthe same travels the slot I in either direction so as to release thelatch from the notch I62 while the member 61 is traveling from theposition shown in Fig. 4 to the position shown in Fig. 5 of thedrawings, and thereby release the record changing mechanism foroperation.

The latch I63 is likewise released from 'latching engagement in thenotch I8I during the return'movement of the member 61 from the position"shown in Fig. 5 to the position shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, tothereby release the record changing mechanism for actuation by thecontinued movement of the member 31.

In order to control the adjustable stop I43 and also to provide meansfor tripping the latch III manually at any time during the playing of arecord, in order to thus reject the record being played and tosubstitute another record by operation of the change mechanism, weprovide a single manually operable control, which is shown moreparticularly in Figs. 9, 10, and 11. This control comprises asupportframe I83 (see Fig. 10) clampingly secured in a suitable openingin the plate I3 by the nut I12. This support frame forms a bushing forsupporting a tubular member having a disc III presented at the end ofthe bushing I53 beneath the'plate I3. The other end of the tubularmember projects upwardly of the bushing and carries amanually operableknob I13 exposed upwardly of the plate I3. The adjustable stop I43comprises a bent lug of an elongated member I15, which is slidablysecured to the underside of the plate I3 by any suitable retainingmeans. To this end the stop member I33 may be used by forming the sameas a headed pin extending through a slot I11 in the member I15 tothereby retain the same slidably on the plate I 3. The other end of themember I15 is connected with the disc "I as by means of a stud I13. Byturning the knob I13, the member I15 may be shifted in order to presentthe stop member I43 in adjusted position to determine the positionoccupied by the member I45 and hence by the shoulders I5I thereof, underthe influence of the spring I41, when the member 85 is turned by theaction of the cam I 53. The position of the member I45 thus determinesthe starting posi tion to which the tone arm may be turned in applyingthe same on a record to be played. Consequently, it is necessary toprovide for as many adjusted positions of the knob I13 as there are stopshoulders I5I on the member [45. We prefer also to provide an adjustedknob position in which the stop member I43 prevents all of the shouldersI5I from being projected into position to engage the pin I53. We alsoprovide a latch IBI pivoted on the bottom of the plate I3, as by meansof the stud I83, said latch being preferably spring urged in a directionto engage the spring pressed head of the stud 35 of the driving device33. The latch I8I is operatively connected with the member I15, however,and is so arranged that the latch will lock the member 33 againstoperation when the stop I43 is in'position preventing engagement of theshoulders I5I with the position determining pin I53. When in suchposition, the record playing equipment will be permitted to function asif the record changing mechanism was nonexistent thereby conditioningthe apparatus for manual operation. The latch I8I, however, will beretracted from the driving device 33 leaving V the same cooked foraction upon operation of the latch lever III thereby rendering theapparatus automatically operative whenever the knob is positioned toallow the shoulders I5I to engage the arm I83 of a lever I3I, which ispivoted as v at I33, on the collar I33 beneath the plate I3. By pressingthe button I81, the pin I85 may turn the lever I! on its pivot to move arod I35. This rod I35 is slidably supported in a guide I31 and has anend I 33 hooked around the end of the latch releasing lever I25 50 thatby pressing on the button In the latch m may be tripped, therebyinitiating the record changing cycle of the 'device.

It is thought that the invention and its numerous attendant advantageswill be fully understood from the foregoing description, and it isobvious that numerous changes may be made in r the form, constructionand arrangement of the several parts without departing from the spiritor scope of the invention, or sacrificing any of its attendantadvantages, the form herein disclosed being a preferred embodimentforthe purpose of illustrating the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of;the United States is:

1. Phonographic apparatus comprising the combination, with a recordturntable, a motor for turning the same and a tone arm movable withrespect to the turntable, of record changing means comprising a drivingmember normally retained in stand-by position, normally inoperativedriving means connectible with the motor to move the member in onedirection to a projected position, said driving means being connectiblewith said motor when the member is in projected position to return themember to standby position, means driven by said member for swinging thetone arm radially with respect to said turntable and for raising andlowering the tone arm with respect to the turntable, record changingmechanism driven by said member, and releasing meansoperable by saidtone arm, as at the conclusion of the playing of a. record on theturntable, to actuate said driving means. said releasing meanscomprising a lever having teeth formed along an arm thereof, a toothmember pivoted on and swingable with said tone arm, said tooth beingyieldable on the pivot to tilt thereon and thereby engage said teeth andpass over them dragingly in ratchet fashion without tilting the lever,so long as the tone arm moves continuously in one direction during theplaying of a record, said tooth being adapted to straighten itself onits pivot by the locking of its tip between a pair of said teeth andthereby move said lever to release said driving means upon reversal ofrecord playing movement of the tone arm, as when the same enters aneccentric record groove.

2. Phonographic apparatus comprising a combination of, a recordturntable, means operatively associated with the turntable for turningthe same, record changing means, driving means comprising a cam formedon the underside of the turntable, clutch means drivingly connectingsaid record changing means with said cam driving means, and meansoperatively connected to said clutch means to render said clutch meansoperative. I

3'. Phonographic apparatus comprising a combination of, a recordturntable, means operatively associated with the turntable for turningthe same, record changing means, driving means comprising means forminga spiral groove in the underside of the turntable, clutch meansdrivingly connecting said record changing means with said spiral groove,and means operatively connected to said clutch means to render saidclutch means operative.

4. Phonographic apparatus comprising a combination of, a recordturntable, means operatively associated with the. turntable for turningthe same, record changing means, driving means formed on the undersideof the turntable, an actuating member operatively associated with saidrecord changing means, a plurality of clutch means successivelydrivingly connecting said actuating member with said driving means, atleast one of said clutch means being operative to connect said actuatingmember with said driving means to move said actuating member to apredetermined position to operate said record changing means and anotherof said clutch means being operative to connect said actuating member tosaid driving means to restore said actuating member to its initialposition, and means operatively connected to said clutch meansselectively to render said clutch means operative.

5. Phonographic apparatus comprising a combination of, a recordturntable, means operatively associated with the turntable for turningthe same, record changing means, driving means comprising means forminga cam groove on the underside of the turntable, clutch means comprisinga clutch pin, means operatively associated with said clutch pin and withsaid record changing means to drivingly connect said clutch pin withsaid cam groove, and means operatively associated with said clutch pinto hold it out of engagement with said driving means during the playingof a record.

6. Phonographic apparatus comprising a combination of, a recordturntable, means operatively associated with the turntable for turningthe same, record changing means, driving means comprising means forminga spiral groove on the underside of the turntable, clutch meansdrivingly connecting said record changing means with said spiral groove,means operatively connected to said clutch means to render said clutchmeans operative, and means associated with said spiral groove todisconnect said clutch means irom said driving connection with saidspiral groove.

'7. Phonographic-apparatus comprising a combination of, a, recordturntable, means operatively associated with the turntable for turningthe same, a tone arm associated therewith pivoted for vertical andhorizontal movement, record changing means, driving means comprising acam formed on the underside of the turntable, clutch means drivinglyconnecting said record changing means and said tone arm with said cam,and means operatively connected to said clutch means to render saidclutch means operative.

8. Phonographic apparatus comprising a combination of, arecordturntable, means operatively associated with the turntable for turningthe same, a tone arm associated therewith pivotally mounted for verticaland horizontal movement, record changing means, driving means formed onthe underside of the turntable, actuating means operatively associatedwith said record changing means comprising clutch means drivinglyconnecting said record changing means with said driving means, slipclutch means drivingly connecting said actuating means with said tonearm to move the tone arm to a standby position during a record changingoperation and then back to playing position, and means operativelyconnected to said first clutch means to render said clutch meansoperative.

9. Phonographic apparatus comprising a combination of, a recordturntable, means operatively associated with the turntable for turningthe same, a tone arm associated therewith pivoted for vertical andhorizontal movement, record changing means, driving means comprising acam formed on the underside of the turntable, actuating meansoperatively associated with said record changing means and provided withclutch means drivingly connecting said record changing means with saiddriving means, a cam member associated with said actuating means andoperatively associated with the tone arm to cause the tone arm to ascendand descend at predetermined times before and after the changing of arecord, another cam member associated with said actuating means andoperatively associated with the tone arm to cause the tone arm to berotated horizontally, and means operatively connected with said clutchmeans to render said clutch means operative.

10. Phonographic apparatus comprising a combination of, arecordturntable, means operatively associated with the turntable forturning the same, a tone arm associated therewith pivoted for verticaland horizontal movement, record changing means, driving meansformed onthe underside of the turntable, actuating means operatively associatedwith said record changing means and provided with clutch means drivinglyconnecting said record changing means with said driving means, meansoperatively associated with said actuating means and with said tone armto cause said tone arm to pivot vertically prior to a record changingoperation, to pivot horizontally to a standby position during the recordchanging operation, to return to playing position and to descend on therecord, adjustable stop means operable to stop the movement of the tonearm from the standby position to the playing position at a predeterminedpoint depending upon the size of the record to be played, meansassociated with said actuating means to release the stop means when thetone arm descends on a record,

means operatively connected to said clutch means to render said clutchmeans operative, and means operatively associated with said drivingmeans to disengage said clutch means from said. driving means.

11. Phonographic apparatus comprising a combination of, a recordturntable freely mounted on a base plate, a motor drivingiy connected tothe turntable for turning the same, means forming a spiral groove on theunderside of the turntable, an actuating member pivotally mountedbeneath said base plate, a pair of spaced clutch means each comprising apin mounted on said actuating member in spaced relation to each otherand to the pivot point of the actuating member operable to move upwardlythrough an opening in said base plate to engage said spiral groove,means operatively associated with each I of said clutch pin to preventsaid upward movement during the playing of .a record, means operativeLyassociated with one of. said clutch means to render its clutch pinoperative to engage said spiral groove while the other clutch pin isheld out of engagement with the spiral groove, means operativelyassociated with said first clutch pin to move it out of operativeengagement with said spiral groove as it reaches a predetermined pointin the latter, means operatively associated with the other clutch meansto render its associated clutch pin operative to engage the spiralgroove when the first clutch pin is withdrawn therefrom, meansoperatively associated with said second clutch means to move said secondclutch pin out of engagement with said spiral groove as it reaches apredetermined point in the latter, record changing means, and meansdrivingly connecting said actuating member to said record changing meansto cause a record to be disposed on the turntable during theperiod thatsaid first clutch pin is operatively engaged in said spiral groove.

12. Phonographic apparatus comprising a combination of, a recordturntable freely mounted on v a base plate, a motor drivingly connectedto the turntable for turning the same, a tone arm asso-' ciatedtherewith pivoted for vertical and horizontal movement, means forming aspiral groove on the underside of the turntable, an actuating memberpivotally mounted for horizontal movement beneath said base plate, apair of spaced clutch means each comprising a pin mounted on saidactuating member in spaced relation to each other and to the pivot pointof the actuating member operable to move upwardly through an opening insaid base plate to engage said spiral groove, means operativelyassociated with each of said clutch pins to prevent said upward movementduring the playing of a record, means operatively associated with one ofsaid clutch means to render its clutch pin operative to engage saidspiral groove while the other clutch pin is held out of-engagement withthe spiral groove, means operatively associated with said first clutchpin to move it out of. operative engagement with the spiral groove as itreaches a predetermined point in the latter, means operativelyassociated with the other clutch means to render its associated ingmeans to cause a record to be disposed on the turntable during theperiod that said first clutch pin is operatively engaged in said spiralgroove, an arm having an arcuate shaped end fixed to rotate with saidactuating member, a cam plate; fixed to rotate with said actuatingmember, a cam.

' the edge of said arcuateshaped end of said arm operable to rotate thetone arm horizontally, said wheelrotating the tone arm ofi of theturntable to a standby position when the first clutch pin is engaged insaid spiral groove and rotating it back to playing position when thesecond clutch pin is engaged.

13. Phonographic apparatus comprising a com: bination of, a recordturntable freely mounted on a base plate, a motor drivingly connected toa turntable for turning the same, a tone arm associated therewithpivoted for vertical and horizontal movement, means forming a spiralgroove on the underside of the turntable, an actuating member pivotallymounted beneath said base plate, a pair of spaced clutch means eachcomprising'a pin mounted on said actuating member in spaced relationto'each other and to the pivot point of the actuating member operable tomove upwardly through an opening in said base to engage said spiralgroove, means operatively associated with each .of said clutch pins toprevent said upward movement during the playing of a record, meansoperatively associated with one of said clutch means to render itsclutch pin operative to engage said spiral groove while the other clutchpin is held out of engagement with the 40 spiral groove, meansoperatively associated with said first clutch pin to move it out ofoperative engagement with the spiral groove as it reaches apredetermined point in the latter, means operatively associated with theother clutch means to render its associated clutch pin operative toengage the spiral groove when the first clutch pin iswithdrawn'therefrom, means operatively associ-.

ated with said second clutch means to move said second clutch pin out ofengagement with said spiral groove as it reaches a predetermined pointin the latter, record changing means, means drivingly connecting saidactuating member to said record changing means to cause a record to bedisposed on the turntable during the period that said first clutch pinis operatively engaged in said 7 spiral groove, an arm having an arcuateshaped clutch pin operative to engage the spiral groove 0rd changingmeans, means drivingly connecting said actuating member to said recordchangend fixed to rotate with said actuating member, a, cam plate fixedto rotate with said actuating member, a cam track on said plate having alower and a raised portion, a pin engaging said cam track at one end andsaid tone arm at the other I the turntable to a standby position whenthe first clutch pin is engaged in said spiral groove and rotating itback to playing position when the second clutch pin is engaged,adjustable stop means mounted on said base plate and operativelyassociated with said tone arm to stop the inward movement or the tonearm at a predetermined playing position, and release means operativelyassociated with said actuating member and with said stop means torelease said stop means when the tone arm descends on the record.

14. Phonographic apparatus comprising a combination of, a recordturntable freely mounted on a base plate having holes therein, a motordrivingly connected to the turntable for turning the same, means forminga spiral groove on the underside of the turntable, an actuating memberpivotally mounted beneath said base'plate, a pair of spaced clutch meanseach comprising a spring pressed pin mounted on said actuating member inspaced relation to each other and to the pivot point of the actuatingmember operable to move upwardly through said holes under the influenceof its associated spring to engage said spiral groove, latch meansoperatively associated with each of said clutch pins to prevent saidupward movement during the playing of a record, delatching'meansoperatively associated with one of said clutch means to render itsclutch pin operative to engage said spiral groove while the other pin isheld out of engagement with the spiral groove, said delatching meanscomprising at least one of the jollowing: (a) a manually actuated leveroperatively associated with said latching means of said first clutchpin. (b) a lever operatively associated with the tone arm and thelatching means of said first clutch pin operative to delatch said firstclutch pin when the tone arm reaches a predetermined position, and (c) alever o eratively associated with the tone arm and the latching means ofsaid first clutch pin operative to delatch said first clutch pin uponeccentric movement of the tone arm, means operatively associated withsaid first clutch pin to move it out of operative engagement with thespiral groove as it reaches a predetermined point in the latter, meansoperatively associated with the other clutch means to render itsassociated clutch pin operative to engage the spiral groove when thefirst clutch pin is withdrawn therefrom, means operatively associatedwith said second clutch means to move said second clutch pin out ofengagement wit said spiral groove as it reaches a predetermined point inthe latter,record changing means, and means drivingly connecting saidactuating member to said record changing means to cause a record to bedisposed on the turntable during the period that said first clutch pinis operatively engaged in said spiral groove.

15. Phonographic apparatus comprising a combination of, a recordturntable freely mounted on a base plate having slots therein, a motordrivingly connected to the turntableior turning the same, a tone armassociated therewith pivoted for vertical and horizontal movement, meansforming a spiral groove on the underside of the turntable, an actuatingmember pivotally mounted beneath said base plate, a pair of spacedclutch means each comprising a spring pressed pin mounted on saidactuating member in spaced relation to each other and to the pivot pointof the actuating member operable to move upwardly through said slots toengage sai-J, spiral groove,

means associated with said actuating member a and the sides of saidslots to support said actuating member, latch means operativelyassociated with each or said clutch pins to prevent said upward movementduring the playing 01! a record. detaching means operatively associatedwith one of said clutch means 'to render its clutch pin operative toengage said spiral groove while the other clutch pin is held out ofengagement with the spiral groove, means operatively associated withsaid first clutch pin and with said spiral groove to move the pin out ofoperative engagement with the spiral groove as it reaches the inner endof the latter, means operatively associated with the other clutch meansto render its associated clutch spiral groove when the first clutch pinis withdrawn therefrom, means operatively associated with said secondclutch means and said spiral groove to move said second clutch pin outof engagement with said spiral groove as it reaches the inner end of thelatter, record changing means, means drivingly connecting said actuatingmembar to said record changing means to cause a record to be disposed onthe turntable during the period that said first clutch pin isoperatively engaged in said spiral groove, a member having an arcuateshaped end fixed to rotate with said actuating member, a cam plate fixedto rotate with said actuating member, a cam track on said plate having alower and a raised portion, a pin engaging said cam track atone end andsaid tone arm at the other end to raise the tone arm when said pinascends on said raised portion and to lower it when it descends as inplaying a record,

and slip clutch means comprising a friction wheel engaging the edge ofsaid arcuate shaped end operable to rotate the tone arm horizontally,said wheel rotating the tone arm of! of the turntable to a standbyposition when the first clutch pin is engaged in said spiral groove androtating it back to playing position when the second clutch pin isengaged.

- JOSEPH ERWOOD.

JOHN ER-WOOD. 7

in operative to engage the Certificate of Correction Patent No.2,394,539. February 12, 1946. JOSEPH ERWOOD ET AL.

It is hereby certified that errors appear in the printed specificationof the above.

numbered patent requiring. correction as follows: Page 2,'second column,line 54, for

- -substantialy read substantially; page 3, second column, hne 9, formean read means; line 37, for turntable read tu nable; line 58, for tostand-b read the standby; page 9, second column, line 16, claim 15, fordetaching read etching; and that the and Letters Patent should be readwith-these corrections therein that the same may conform to the rewrd ofthe case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 21st day of May, A. D; 1946.

LES LIE FRAZER,

First Assistant Commissioner of Patents.

